What are the Essential Questions for our study of the novel?
- How is The Great Gatsby a commentary on the decay of social and moral values that came about in the 1920's?
- How does Fitzgerald use symbolism to communicate the novel's major themes?
- How does irony in The Great Gatsby serve to critique the American dream?
- What aspects of the novel make it semi-autobiographical?
- Why is Gatsby considered great even though he fails?
- What do the two worlds, the Midwest and the East, represent for Nick and for Gatsby?
- How does geography contribute to the definition of social class in The Great Gatsby?
- How does Great Gatsby represent the feeling of the American Dream decaying during the 1920's?
- Despite saying Gatsby is a corrupt person, why does Nick hold on to the notion that Gatsby is a beautiful person?